Enschede-Hörstel

Wednesday morning. 3 hours sleep after a night drinking working at the bar, and already back on the street. I’ve a date with the doc at 12.30h, now it’s 10.00h when I’m at Oldenzaal on-ramp. No need to hurry, as the average hitching time home is 1 hours 30 minutes.

Ten minutes in the cold december wind, -1 °C, no clouds, sun. I hate myself for not carrying any gloves, but fortunately a German guy with Russian roots with his big truck stops. He’s coming from the  trucking company just around the corner. It’s the first time ever a truck from there is stopping for me, just after hundreds of them just passing by me all the times waiting along this ramp.

The driver just had mercy with me, telling me he can’t let me out there in the cold. True, thanks man! He has to get off just some kilometers further in Gildehaus, but hey, I crossed the border!

At Gildehaus, traffic is low, as always. But this doesn’t mean anything, I always get fast rides here within no more than 10 minutes. After some minutes an old Opel passes by, stopping 50m down the ramp. I want to run towards the car, thinking that he just decided to stop for me after some seconds, when I recognize the blue blue light in the back of the car. Oups, Zivilstreife, plain-clothes policeman.

Now we, the officer and me, standing at the traffic island along the ramp. Suddenly quite a lot of cars pass by, and I get angry of missing the chance of getting a ride. Usual questions, no- of course no narcotics, no drugs with me, he searching my bag, checking my id, doubtful looks when I tell him my story (hitchhiking to the doc? idiot, he must think), anyway, after 5 minutes ,they leave me alone at the ramp.

No two minutes later a woman stops. A confused, chaotic conversation follows (comments in brackets by author):

Me: Are you going towards Bad Bentheim? (what I mean is the next on-ramp)
She: Eh, eh eh, do you know that you’re just 3 km away from Bad Bentheim?
Me: Yes, where are you going to?
She: Not towards Bad Bentheim, I’m going north. (up the A31, so in fact, along the Bad Bentheim ramp)
Me: So, then you’re passing Bad Bentheim. Can you give me a ride there?
She: No, you have to go the other direction, it’s only 3 km.
[...]

This continued for some sentences, just image me standing on that traffic island, her stopping the car in the middle of the road..at some point, I just ask if she can bring me towards the next on-ramp, and there I got my ride.

In Bad Bentheim, I wait quite long, maybe some 20 minutes. I figure out that the deep winter sun is blending drivers, so when they go up the ramp, they cannot see me that good. Annoying, but anyway, at some point a Turkish looking driver stops. It’s a young guy, going up towards Osnabrück. Yeah!

During the conversation I get to know that he’s from Berlin, but originally Syrian. Yeah, my second Syrian driver in Germany! We talk about the country and Batman, his relation with Disneyland and stuff. Unfortunately, after ~1,5 hours, we reach the Rheine-Kanalhafen ramp. Bye bye!

The next ride followed just seconds later, the second car passing me stops and brings me the last 3 km home into Hörstel City. An old man, telling me that “he can’t leave that boy out there walking in the cold”. Thanks to that cold December sun….

(Title taken from: Girl from Saskatoon – Johnny Cash (Personal File))

Sunday

Oldenzaal-Zuid on-ramp. It’s raining and snowing at the same time, even my shoes are wet already. Waiting some 5 minutes feel like it has been 15, but according to the low traffic the waiting time is all right. A young german guy in his expensive BMW stops. Towards Bad Bentheim,  (as always?) , we talk about the weather and bad hitchhiking conditions. His colorful hippie-cap doesn’t fit into the car, I think, soon leaving him.

At Bad Bentheim ramp some cars pass by, when I see an Opel Rekord A oldtimer coming down my way. The driver waves me over, stops, and there I sit in a car completely opposite to the one before. “The car has to look old, like some ‘fashion-trash-style’.”, the driver tells me. Me don’t understanding most of the technical details he’s talking about, but anyway, I’m much more fascinated by the feeling of sitting in this 44 year old Opel, the engine roaring loud, the old radio and – the speedometer! Awesome! The car itselfs is so ugly, that it’s already beautiful again. Somehow the driver is talking about old Nascar-races back in the 50′s with such cars, so somehow the car has to look like the cars back in the good old days. Later on, he let’s me out in Rheine-Kanalhafen. 45 Minutes on a rainy sunday, not bad!

Monday

11 a.m. at Rheine-Kanalhafen on a Monday morning, already the most normal thing. Traffic passes by, and somehow most people again just look bored, frustrated, well , even stubborn. I swear at those poor drivers for not giving me a ride, but in the end some truck stops and gives me a ride until the parking area Emstal. Me havn’t been here for a long time (usually getting out before at Rheine-Nord ramp), already calculating how long I might wait there this time. But, already as I get out of the car, a man in his 50s standing at the parking, smoking his cigar, offers me a ride towards Schüttorf. All right, let’s try the empty and awful ramp there. The man doesn’t talk much, and for a little bit I feel uncomfortable, but that’s maybe just me myself being tired. In Schüttdorf, I say goodbye, as 2 cars (and maybe 3 minutes) later an old Opel Astra stops. In there an even older man, for sure nearly 80, stops. Bad Bentheim only, but that’s perfect, I tell him, it’s a much better ramp there. Ok, I get over to the other side of the car, and he trying to open the doorlock. Somehow he’s too old to move that far, and as he tries to stretch his arm, his foot push down the gas, so he’s moving forward. Such a funny scene, that I begin to laugh. Nearly a minute we (well, better he) need(s) to open the goddamn door.

The driver seems to be very happy to have someone to talk with these few kilometers, telling me he’s going to the swimming pool in Bad Bentheim, usually on Sunday, but somehow – coincidence! – he decided to go this Monday.

Ramp Bad Bentheim sucks sometimes, and so today I wait quite long – which wasn’t long at all, but maybe because of the cold it feels much longer inside – a Turkish guy stops, going to the Oldenzaal ramp to work at some company next there. He’s not talking much today, so minutes later we say goodbye and I take the bus the last meters home.

Times? Sunday 45 minutes, Monday 1,5 hours. Not bad at all, if remembering that – the fastest – route with the train takes at least 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Short report from the road;

It’s Friday morning, 12.30h. The sudden onset of winter destroys my umbrella while waiting for the bus towards the on-ramp. Great, wet from top to bottom, getting out of the bus at Oldenzaal ramp 15 minutes later.Fortunately snowfall is stopping for some minutes, but when arriving at the ramp, a big “ROADWORKS” sign appears.

What the,…not today, not on “my” ramp.

I talk to the workers who (fortunately again) are only cutting some trees, but block the whole hard shoulder. Whatever, standing inbetween the big vehicles of the workers, I show my thumb to the first trucks passing by. As to say, “I figure a little buuuh in all of this”, the workers holding their break, watching excited towards the hitchhiker. Then, it happens. The first car passing by, the driver gives me a confused look, then stops 200m further where the workers left some space. I jump off towards the car and there it is, my ride towards Bad Bentheim. Not even 20 seconds of waiting!

He’s going towards Lingen, so I get out in Bad Bentheim. Snowfall begins now again, everything around already is white. No time for enjoying the scene, after seconds another car stops. It’s full with trash, but somehow the driver manages to make some space on the passenger seat. His destination is Oldenburg, so he passes by Hörstel. As we reach the Kanalhafen ramp, where I normally hitch the last 3 km towards my hometown easily, my driver decides to bring me home. So, after no more than 40 minutes, I reach my parents home, much faster than expected and not even became wet anymore!

So what, snowfall, quite bad weather, wet jeans, but instead of 2:20h with the (fastest) train I could take…: 40 minutes !!!!